Amanda Bearse Biography

Fast Facts

• Was the first representative of the Human Rights Campaign's National Coming Out Day and is on the board of The Names Projects AIDS Memorial Quilt and the LA Gay & Lesbian Center
• Attended Rollins College, Birmingham Southern College, and Young Harris College, where she received her Associate's degree
• Studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse under Sanford Meisner and later studied directing at the American Film Institute and the University of Southern California
• Made her screen acting debut in the soap opera "All My Children" in 1982
• Quote: "I realized on Married With Children that my character was only going to be who she was, she wasn't the lead of the show․ They wanted me to hang in there, and I was having a great time, and they asked me if I was interested in doing something else with the show and that's when I said that I'd love to direct․ So I studied and ended up directing in six seasons on the show, so for the last twenty one years I've been behind the camera․"
• Quote: "(On "Married․․․with Children"): "It's still on the air, which is unfathomable to me․ We had no idea it was going to be this little renegade show that could․""
• Best known for her role as Marcy D'Arcy in "Married․․․with Children" and as Amy Peterson in "Fright Night․"
• Was the director and co-executive producer of the TV series "The Big Gay Sketch Show" in 2008
• In 1993, Bearse publicly came out as a lesbian in Advocate magazine, becoming the first primetime actress to "come out․"
• Directed episodes of "Married with Children," "Reba," "Dharma & Greg," and Veronica's Closet․"